Vibratory passive exerciser



April 18, 1961 H. scHElN VIBRATORY PASSIVE EXERCISER Filed Jan. 18, 1960 INVENTOR. He/ey ScHE/N BY 4244;, ,4a Arra YS United States Patent O,

2,980,109 VIBRATORY' PA'SSIV E EYIERCISER g Henry Schein, West Orange, NJ., assignor to Imperial Electronics, Inc., Newark, NJ., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Jan. 18, 1960, Ser. No. 3,002

7 'Claim s. (Cl. 128-63) z,980,109 Patented Apr. 18, 1961 "ice walls 20, 22, and a top wall 24. The housing may be of any desiredsshape, this being a matter of choice in which At the present time itvis conventionalr'to activate the vibratory output driving' members of an energizer by direct kinematic connection with an electric prime mover and as a result when heavy loads are placed on the active element of the exerciser there is a tendency to overload and stall the prime mover.

It is an object of my invention to provide an exerciser of the character described having an improved energizer which is not subject to the foregoing drawback.

It is another object of my invention to provide an exerciser of the character described having an improved energizer which reduces its amplitude of vibration when subject to undue loads and thus will -accommodate over'- loads without stalling.

' Itis another object of my invention to provide an energizer of the character described `which comprises relativelyfew and simple parts,-;is 'easy and inexpensive to makeand is rugged and foolproof in use.

' It is another object of my invention to provide an energizer of unusually simple construction, which is particularly well adapted to mass production methods of manufacture.

Other objects of my invention in partV will be obvious and in part will be pointed out 'hereinaften My nvention accordingly consists in the lfeatures of construction, combinations of'elements and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the' 'exerciser hereinafter described andof which the'scope of application will be indicated in the appended claims.

lIn the accompanying drawings, in which is shown one of the van'ous'possible embodiments of my invention,

Pig. 1 is a side view of an exerciser constructed in accordance with my invention, and illustratng an energizer appearanceiand cost considerations are primary factors.

Pursuant tomy present invention the energizer further includes an electric motor 26 having eccentrics 28, 30 secured on the protruding opposite ends of the motor shaft 32. The motor is located within the housing 12 and constitutes the electric prime mover which furnishes energy for actuating the exerciser. Said motor preferably is of the universal type, so that it can be used with either A.C. or D.C. power, and desirably the eccentrics are diametn'- cally opposed, that is to say, are located 180 apart (see Fig. 4) whereby to obtain maximum amplitude of vibration.

In'present day conventional energizers for belt and table passive exercisers directly motor driven members such as crank arms constitute the vibratory output driving members for the energizers and these members are connected directly to the active element of an exerciser whereby the latter is reciprocated rapidly for the purpose of administering passive massage. However, with such equipment the`l prime mover often stalled when activated under load or when unduly heavy loads were imposed on an Operating prime mover, because movement of the v crank arms and therefore of the motor shafts, was directly and too severely restrained.

These difficulties have been obvated pursuant to my present invention by connecting the active element of the passive exerciser to energzer output driving members which are remote from and non-rigidly connected to the motor shaft or to the eccentrics. In particular, Said vibrating output driving members constitute stationary portions of the motor or elements operatively integral ,therewith. It should be pointed out that the terms stationary as used herein is employed in a relative sense toV denote the condition of a portion of a motor with respect to which a rotor turns and not, as soon will be appreciated, to denote immovable in an absolute Sense. In an energizer embodying my invention, although the amplitude of vibration of the output driving members may be mounted on a pedestal and connected` to a reciprocatory belt for passively massaging a person v Pig. 2'is an enlarged, partially fragmentary, sectional view taken substantially alongthe line 2- 2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-'-3 of Pig. 2; and g Pig/4 is an enlarged, partially fragmentary, sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 of Fig. l.

Referringnow in detail to the drawings, the reference numeral 10 denotes a vibratory passive exerciser constructed in accordance with and embodying my present inventionjgSaid exerciser includes an energizer E cornprising al hollow closed housing' 12, `fabrieated, for examplepfrom sheet'metal. The housing has a bottom wall 14',v a front wall 16 (the front of the energizer is the porrestrained, that is to say, lessened, upon the application of very heavy loads, movement of the motor eccentrics and of the motor shaft is unaffected.

More specifically, in my present invention the motor casng, eg., the motor base, or a part which is connected to move therewith, is secured permanently and rigidly in any convenient manner, as by welding or bolting (not shown), to a flat, horizontal, oblong sheet metal platform 34 having an upwardly fianged periphery. The platform is spring supported in a horizontal position, i.e., when the motor is idle the platformand Springs will assume such position when in equilibrium. The same Springs bias the platform in a similar manner to the same position When the motor is actuated.

In the preferred form of my invention the platform is supported by two pairs of horzontal helical Springs 36, 3'8, 40, 4'2 the longitudinal aXes whereof are normal to the length of the platform. Moreover, the motor shaft 32 is horizontally disposed above and parallel to the platform and parallel to the longitudinal axis thereof. Said longitudinalvaxisof the platform and the motor shaft preferably are located parallel to the front wall 16 of the energizer housing.

'Ihe rear helical Springs 36, 68 are spaced from one another in a direction lengthwse of the platform and have their longitudinal aXes parallel and perpendicular to the length of the platform. Said Springs have their front ends secured to the erect flange at the rear edge 44 oflthe platform and their rear ends secured respectively to spaced posts 46,v 48 provided vadjacent the rear wall 18 of the housng and extending upwardly from the bottom wall thereof. In a similar fashion the front helical springs 44), 42 are located between and secured to the erect flange at the front edge '50 of the platform and to posts 52, 54 located adjacent the front wall 16 of the housing, said posts being mounted on the bottom wall of the housing. Each front spring is in registration with a different one of the rear springs and all of the springs are under a tension sufficient to hold the Springs approximately horizontal. As indicated, this arrangernent biases the platform to a substantially horizontal equilibrium position when the motor is idle. Said position preferablyV is such that the platform then is approximately at the center of the housing where it has maximum clearance for vibration in all directions.

Bumper sleeves 56, 58 of elastomeric material, such for example as a natural or Synthetic rubber, ensheathe the two front Springs 49, 42, respectively. The purpose of said sleeves will be pointed out hereinafter.

Extending outwardly from the opposite ends of the platform parallel to the longitudinal axis thereof are output driving members in the form of two aligned horizontal projecting rods 60, 62 which are permanently and rigidly affixed to the erect fianges at the ends 64, 66, respectively, of the platform. Said rods protrude from the platform and extend through and beyond large openings 68, 70 in the associated end walls 2%, 22, respectively, of the housing. These openings are sufficiently large to permit uninhibited movement of the rods during operation of the exerciser, so that the vibratory effect of the energizer will not be unduly limited.

In the preferred form of my invention illustrated herein the longitudinal axes of the rods 6%, '62 are substantially in the same horizontal plane as that in which the springs 36, 38, 4G and 42 are disposed. I have discovered that this arrangement appears to encourage maximum amplitude of movement of the platform when loads are placed on the vibrating rods. Moreover, I have observed that such mounting for the platform tends to limit excurs'ive movement of the rod out of a single horizontal plane, that is to say, the rods will tend to vibrate within such plane, thereby avoiding waste of energy by movement normal to the plane. This permits me to obtain maximum exercising movement with a minimum expenditure of energy, so that I am able to make the energizer compact, small and inexpensive. In addition by locatng the motor shaft in substantially the same plane as that of the Springs or only slightly spaced therefrom and with the motor shaft parallel to said plane, I have found that in a like manner I am able to encourage maximum amplitude of vibration of the output driving members and to discourage exercursive movement thereof out of a predetermined horizontal plane. This too, therefore, minimizes, compacts and renders less expensive the construction of the energizer,

The driving rods 60, 62 are arranged to be detachably secured to the active element of the exerciser whether it be a massaging belt, a massaging table or any other form of exerciser. I have shown here the active element of the passive exerciser in the form of a belt 72 of fabric or the like the ends 74, 76 whereof are connected to the vibrating output driving members. The center of the exerciser belt is designed to ride on the back of a user who stands in front of the energizer. Specifically, the ends of the belt are detachably secured to the output members, i.e., rods, by providing at each end a stiff member 78, eg., a member fabricated from a Synthetic plastic resin or heavy leather, and permanently secured to the associated end of the belt as by rivets or sewing. Each member 73 is shaped to include a keyhole slot 79. The output rods include at their free tips knobs tl, 32 that are operationally integral with the rods and are provided with headed stems 84.

Each of the keyhole slots is so arranged that its narrow end is closer to the associated end of the belt than its wider end. The wider end of each keyhole slot is large enough to freely admit the head on the associated stem 84 and the narrow end of each keyhole slot is smaller than such head, but sufficiently wide to admit the stem 84. Thereby, each member 78 can be detachably secured to a vibrating output driving rod by slipping the wide end of the keyhole slot over the headed end of the stem 84 and then pulling on the belt to shift the narrow end of the 'keyhole slot into engagcment with said stem. This comparatively loose securement between the exerciser and energizer suffices for proper operation of the exerciser inasmuch as in normal operation the user leans back on the belt, urging it away from the energizer.

The energizer E is rigdly secured, as by bolts, to the upper end of a substantially vertical pedestal 86 the lower end of which is attached to a fioor plate 88 on which the user stands when he is employing the exerciser.

In the operation of the exerciser the energizer motor is acti'vated to spin the diametrically opposed eccentrics and thereby severely shake the motor casing. This shaking motion is transmitted directly to the platform and the vibrating rods. However, the shaking movement tends to be constrained to a vibratory to-and-fro motion in a horizontal plane by the horizontal helical supportng Springs; and, as noted heretofore, maximum efiiciency in the transduction of the random shaking movement into a vibratory motion in a horizontal plane is encouraged by locatng the driving members in substantially the same plane as that of the supporting Springs and by locatng the axis of rotation of the eccentrics as close as is convenient, from a manufacturing point of view, to the same plane.

The combined effect of imposition of a heavy load on the vibrating output driving members 'and of the vibration of said members may under certain circumstances tend to cause the platform :to strike stationary parts of the energizer housing or members mounted thereon, particularly the front of the housing or members in front of the platform, and .to preven-t this from occurring and thereby causi-ng chatteri-ng or possibly harming the energizer, I provide the bumpers 56, 58 on the front helical Springs 36, 38. The resliency of the bumpers enables the springs to function in a normal mannerV and yet the interposition of the bumpers between the front edge of the platform and the posts 52, 54 discourages too far forward movement of the platform.

It will, of course, be apparent from the foregoing description that in an energizer embodying my invention the motor can turn freely regardless of the load and as a lresult stalling when starting or running under very heavy loads cannot occur.

It thus will be seen that I 'have provided a |vibratory passive exerciser which achie'ves the various objects of my invention and is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be m'ade of my invention and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein described or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. v

Having thus desoribed my invention I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. An energizer fora Wibratory passive exerciser having an active element, said energizer comprising a motor having a casing and an output shaft, said output shaft 'projecting from opposite ends of the motor, two differently oriented eccentric weights each connected to a different end of the output shaft, a mounting member operationally integra'l with the motor casng, a housing having two openings on opposite sides thereof, resilient means connecting the mounting member to the housing and biasing the mounting member to an equilibrium position when the motor is dle, and two vi'brating output driving members operationally integral with the mounting member, each said output member extending through a dilferent one of the openings in the housing, said output members being constructed for detachable securement to the active element.

2. An energizer for a vibratory passive exercser having an active element, said energizer comprising a housing, a platform located within the housing, at least two helical tension springs connecting the front of the platform to the front of the housing, at least two helical tension Springs connecting the rear of the platform to the rear of the housing, all of said Springs substantially lying in a common horizontal plane, a motor rigidly secured to the platform, said motor having an output shaft extending from opposte ends thereof, two eccentrie weights each secured to a different end of the motor shaft, said weights being diametrically opposed, openings in the sides of said housing, and rods operationally integral with the platform and located on opposite ends thereof, said rods projecting through the openings in the housing and having their ends constructed for detachable securement to the active element.

3. An energizer as set forth in claim 2 wherein a resilient bumper is provided to limit forward movement of the platform.

4. An energizer as set forth in claim 2 wherein at least two of the springs at the front of the platform are sheathed in resilient sleeves acting as bumpers.

5. An energizer as set forth in claim 2 wherein the Springs at the rear of the platform individually are registered with the Springs at the front of the platform.

6. An energizer as set forth in claim 2 wherein the rods and Springs are in substantially the same plane.

7. An energizer as set forth in claim 6 wherein the motor shaft is in substantially the same plane as the rods and springs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 24,487 Leach .Tune 17, 1958 l,774,402 Reddig Aug. 26, 1930 l,784,082 Webb Dec. 9, 1930 1.802.140 De Remer Apr. 21, 1931 

